Noah’s Ark is portrayed in the Book of Genesis as a massive, divinely mandated vessel constructed by Noah to preserve his family and pairs of all living creatures from a world‑destroying flood. This narrative, central to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, closely parallels much older Mesopotamian flood traditions. These parallels reveal shared cultural patterns across the ancient Near East and strongly indicate that the biblical Flood story ultimately arose in Southern Mesopotamia.[01]
Among the Mesopotamian versions, the account of Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh aligns most closely with the Genesis narrative and is widely regarded as its primary source. [02]
The correspondence between the two is so detailed that scholars generally agree the biblical story is dependent on a Mesopotamian prototype.[03]
Notably, the Genesis narrative follows the sequence of events in the Gilgamesh flood tale almost step‑for‑step, even in places where alternative storytelling choices were possible.[04]
The prevailing scholarly view is that both the Gilgamesh and Genesis versions draw on an older Mesopotamian flood tradition—exemplified by the Sumerian tale of Ziusudra—from which later retellings diverged.
Ziusudra, Utnapishtim, and Noah thus stand as the respective protagonists of the Sumerian, Akkadian, and biblical flood legends of the ancient Near East.[05]
Sumerian Noah & Dilmun
According to “Eridu Genesis”, Ziusudra, (The Sumerian Noah), was instructed by gods to build an ark, in order to survive a great flood. The resting place of Ziusudra, after the flood, was Dilmun. [06]
The Epic of Ziusudra adds an element at lines 258–261 not found in other versions, that after the flood.. “king Ziusudra … they caused to dwell in the KUR Dilmun, the place where the sun rises”. The Sumerian word “KUR” is an ambiguous word. Samuel Noah Kramer states that “its primary meanings is ‘mountain’ is attested by the fact that the sign used for it is actually a pictograph representing a mountain. Kur also came to mean ‘land’ in general”. The last sentence can be translated as “In the mountain of crossing, the mountain of Dilmun, the place where the sun rises”. (Wikipedia).
“Ziusudra, the last king of Shurupag before the flood, landed in Dilmun according to the Sumerian Flood story“.[Irving Finkel] [06]
“Based on contextual evidence, Dilmun encompassed Bahrain, Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia. This area is certainly what is meant by references to {Dilmun} among the lands conquered by King Sargon II and his descendants.” (Wikipedia/Dilmun)
In summation: The earliest documented accounts of a flood narrative similar to the biblical story of Noah are found in Mesopotamian texts. In these texts, the resting place of the Ark is “Dilmun“, an ancient name for: littoral North Eastern Arabia.
Biblical Shinar שִׁנְעָר
Genesis 8:4 “and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” (NIV)
Here, we are told that Noah Ark came to rest on the mountain range of “Ararat“.
More details in Genesis 11:1-2:
The previous chapter (Genesis 10) described all the nations, tribes, and languages that came from Noah’s three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth).
Genesis 11 backs up the story to the era before the people groups were divided. Until this point, the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth remained together as a single people group with a single culture.
Genesis 11:1 told us they all shared the same language.
In Genesis 11:2, we’re told that this growing extended family migrated, away from the region where the ark settled, towards the land of Shinar. [07]
Genesis 11:2: “As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.” (NIV)
Jubilees 10:19: “For they departed from the land of Ararat eastward to Shinar; for in his days they built the city and the tower, saying, ‘Go to, let us ascend thereby into heaven.’”
Those people left the resting place of the Ark and moved eastward to the land of Shinar.
This leads to the conclusion that: Biblical “Ararat” lies to the west of Shinar.
But, where is “the land of Shinar”?
Biblical Shinar
Shinar (שִׁנְעָר ) is the name for the southern region of Mesopotamia used by the Hebrew Bible. [08]
The archaeologist Sir Henry Rawlinson suggests that it was the Jewish name for Chaldea. [09]
According to the Jewish encyclopedia:
“Chaldea was the name of a small territory in southern Babylonia extending along the northern and probably also the western shores of the Arabian gulf.” [10]
This gulf was sometimes called “the Sea of the Land of Chaldea” [11] or “Sea of Chaldea” (Tamtu ša Kaldi) [12].
Jubilees 10:20 states that the Tower of Babel was built with bitumen from the Sea of Shinar.
“For they departed from the land of Ararat eastward to Shinar; for in his days they built the city and the tower, saying, ‘Go to, let us ascend thereby into heaven.
And they began to build, and in the fourth week they made brick with fire, and the bricks served them for stone, and the clay with which they cemented them together was asphalt which comes out of the sea, and out of the fountains of water in the land of Shinar.”. (Jubilees 10:20).
The “Sea of Shinar”, is generally identified with the Arabian gulf.
In summation: According to the Genesis account (and apocryphal books), the resting place of the Ark lies to the west of Shinar. The latter is another name for Chaldea, which includes the western shores of the Arabian Gulf.
Theophilus of Antioch
Theophilus of Antioch (115-185 AD) was among the earliest to write a commentary on the Gospels, if not the first; and he seems to have been the first Christian historian of the era of the Old Testament.
Under the title: “ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE”, Theophilus wrote the following:
“And of the ark, the remains are to this day to be seen in the Arabian mountains.”. [14]
CHAP. XIX.–ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE. And neither does he make out that there was a second flood: on the contrary, he said that never again would there be a flood of water on the world; as neither indeed has there been, nor ever shall be. And he says that eight human beings were preserved in the ark, in that which had been prepared by God’s direction, not by Deucalion, but by Noah; which Hebrew word means “rest,” as we have elsewhere shown that Noah, when he announced to the men then alive that there was a flood coming, prophesied to them, saying, Come thither, God calls you to repentance. On this account he was fitly called Deucalion. And this Noah had three sons (as we mentioned in the second book), whose names were Shem, and Ham, and Japhet; and these had three wives, one wife each; each man and his wife. This man some have surnamed Eunuchus. All the eight persons, therefore, who were found in the ark were preserved. And Moses showed that the flood lasted forty days and forty nights, torrents pouring from heaven, and from the fountains of the deep breaking up, so that the water overtopped every high hill 15 cubits. And thus the race of all the men that then were was destroyed, and those only who were protected in the ark were saved; and these, we have already said, were eight. And of the ark, the remains are to this day to be seen in the Arabian mountains. This, then, is in sum the history of the deluge. (THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS. BOOK III. pp. 116-117)
In summation: Theophilus of Antioch, a 2nd-century Christian scholar and bishop, identifies Ararat, where Noah’s ark rested, with mountains in Arabia.
Littoral North-Eastern Arabia, lies within Chaldea, and encompasses “Dilmun“.
Targumic qardu (קַרְדּוּ)
Targums are Aramaic translations of books of the Hebrew Bible. The targumic genre combines literal renderings of the biblical text with additional material, ranging in size from a word to several paragraphs. The additions provide important insights into ancient Jewish biblical interpretation. The major targums are: Onkelos, Jonathan and Neofiti. [15]
These translation works refer to biblical “Ararat” as “qardu” or “qadron“
– Onkelos:
“וְנָחַת תֵּבוֹתָא בְּיַרְחָא שְׁבִיעָאָה בְּשִׁבְעַת עֲשַׂר יוֹמָא לְיַרְחָא עַל טוּרֵי קַרְדּוּ”.
“טוּרֵי קַרְדּוּ” = (and the Ark rested on) “ṭūri qardu”.
Aramaic “טוּר/ṭūr” means: “rock” or “hill” and by extension: “mountain”.
Aramaic: [q] is the emphatic variant of: [k].
In ancient Mesopotamian records there is a geographical region called: “Kardu”.
According to Raymond Dougherty “Certain scholars have suggested the possibility that Kardu is another name for ‘the land of Chaldea’”. [16]
-Jonathan:
וּנְחַת תֵּיבוּתָא בְּיַרְחָא שְׁבִיעָאָה הוּא יַרְחָא דְנִיסָן בְּשֶׁבְסְרֵי יוֹמִין לְיַרְחָא עַל טַוְורֵי דְקַדְרוֹן שׁוּם טַוְורָא חַד קַרְדַנְיָא וְשׁוּם טַוְורָא חַד אַרְמִינְיָא וְתַּמָן מִתְבַּנְיָא קַרְתָּא דְאַרְמַנְיָא בְּאַרְעָא מַדִינְחָא
“טַוְורֵי דְקַדְרוֹן” = (and the Ark rested on) “ṭūri (of) qadrun”.
[d] is the voiced variant of: [t].
[ṭ] is the emphatic variant of:[t].
[-un] in qadrun is a suffix.
qadrun → qatrun → qaṭrun → qaṭrun → qaṭr
Talmudic: qardu (קַרְדּוּ)
Talmud: is the textual record of generations of rabbinic debate about biblical interpretation, compiled between the 3rd and 8th centuries.
The Talmudic commentators in (bb 91a), state that Abraham was imprisoned several years in “khuta/כוּתָא” as well as “qardu/קַרְדּוּ” and they consider the former to be ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’:
וְאָמַר רַב חָנָן בַּר רָבָא אָמַר רַב: עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים נֶחְבַּשׁ אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ – שָׁלֹשׁ בְּכוּתָא, וְשֶׁבַע בְּקַרְדּוּ. וְרַב דִּימִי מִנְּהַרְדְּעָא מַתְנִי אִיפְּכָא. אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: עִיבְרָא זְעֵירָא דְּכוּתָא – זֶהוּ אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים
This can be translated as: “And Rav Ḥanan bar Rava says that Rav says: Our forefather Abraham was imprisoned for ten years, because he rejected the idol worship that was accepted in his land. He was imprisoned for three years in the city of Khuta, and seven years in qardu. And Rav Dimi of Neharde’a teaches the opposite, (that he was imprisoned seven years in Khuta and three in qardu). Rav Ḥisda said: The narrow passage of Khuta, is the Ur of the Chaldeans”.
Here, we’re told that: “qardu” is close to: “the Ur of the Chaldeans“, and Abraham was imprisoned in this “qardu“.
“Ur of the Chaldeans” is generally accepted to be the Sumerian city of Ur, located in southern Mesopotamia, which later became part of the region known as Chaldea.
In summation: Talmudic “qardu” is a place in Chaldea. When Genesis 8:4 records that Noah’s Ark landed at the mountains of Ararat, the Targum “Onkelos” explains that Ararat is: “qardu“. The latter can be pronounced “kardu“, a Mesopotamian name for some parts of Chaldea.
Syriac: qatraye
Littoral north-eastern Arabia had a distinctive culture in Pre-Islamic Arabia. Few centuries before the advent of Islam, this region was predominantly Christian. Its people adopted Syriac as their written language. The name of this region, in Syriac, was: “ܩܲܛܪ̈ܵܝܹܐ Qăṭrāye”.
“Eastern Arabia was divided into two main ecclesiastical regions: Beth Qatraye (northeastern Arabia) and Beth Mazunaye (southeastern Arabia). Christianity in Eastern Arabia was blunted by the arrival of Islam by 628.” (Wikipedia.org/Eastern_Arabia)
Syriac: “Qatraye” still exist in Arabic as: “Qăṭăr/قطر”
“Qatar” now refers only to the “Qatar Peninsula”.
The phonetic root of “Qaṭraye” and “Qaṭar” is [q-ṭ-r].
As mentioned earlier, targum Jonathan refers to the biblical “Ararat” as “qadrun“.
[d] is the voiced variant of: [t].
[ṭ] is the emphatic variant of:[t].
[-un] in qadrun is a suffix.
qadrun → qatrun → qaṭrun → qaṭrun → qaṭr → qaṭraye → qaṭar
In summation: Qaṭraya (or Qatar) is just another name for Chaldea, or “Shinar”, which includes Dilmun, the final resting place of Ziusudra/Noah.
Bahrain and Noah
Until the late Middle Ages, “Bahrain” referred to the region of Eastern Arabia that included Littoral southern Iraq, Kuwait, Al-Hasa, Qatif, Qatar and Bahrain archipelago. [17]. Now it refers only to the island of Bahrain. [18]
In the historical region of Bahrain, there was a place named “ărd Nūḥ/أرض نوح” (literarily: The land of Noah)! Unfortunately, the location of this place is no longer known.
Interestingly enough, biblical (and Quranic) Noah has another name in Arabic medieval sources, which is “iashkur/يشكر”, a name identical to the Sumerian “ishkur” (iškur), the god of rain, storm and flood!
Conclusion:
There are some historical and linguistic indications, that the littoral zone of North Eastern Arabia is the real resting place of Noah’s Ark:
01- The earliest documented accounts of a flood narrative similar to the biblical story of Noah are found in Mesopotamian texts (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian). In these texts, the resting place of the Ark is “Dilmun”, an ancient name for: coastal North Eastern Arabia, including Bahrain Archipelago.
02- According to the biblical account (and apocryphal books), the resting place of the Ark lies to the west of “Shinar” and the Sea of Shinar. The toponym “Shinar” is another name for Chaldea. The historical land of Chaldea includes “Dilmun” (the western shores of the Arabian Gulf). This gulf is also called the Sea of Shinar!
03- Theophilus of Antioch, a 2nd-century Christian scholar and bishop, identifies biblical mountains of Ararat, (where Noah’s ark rested), with mountains in Arabia. The toponym “Arabia” encompasses “Dilmun”, some parts of Chaldea and “Shinar”.
04- Talmudic “qardu” is a place in Chaldea. When Genesis 8:4 records that Noah’s Ark landed at the mountains of Ararat, the Targum “Onkelos” explains that Ararat is: “qardu”. The latter can be pronounced “kardu”, a Mesopotamian name for some parts of Chaldea.
06 –“qardu” or “kardu” is known in Syriac as: “qaṭraya”, a pre-Islamic Syriac name for “Dilmun”.
07- Medieval Arab sources mention a place named: “أرض نوح” (The land of Noah), situated within Historical Bahrain, (the coastal territories of N.E. Arabia).
08-In these sources, Noah has another name, which is: “iashkur/يشكر”, a name identical to the Sumerian “ishkur” (or iškur), the god of rain, storm and flood!
[01] – Woods, Ch. (2010), The Mesopotamian Origins of the Biblical Flood Story.
Associate Professor of Sumerology, University of Chicago.
[02] – Nigosian, S.A. (2004), From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, JHU Press.
[03] – George, Andrew R. (2003). The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. Oxford University Press. p. 70.
[04] – Rendsburg, Gary. “The Biblical flood story in the light of the Gilgamesh flood account,” in Gilgamesh and the world of Assyria, eds Azize, J & Weeks, N. Peters, 2007, p. 117
[05] – Wexler, Robert (2001). Ancient Near Eastern Mythology.
[06] – Finkel, Irving L.: The Ark before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood. London, United Kingdom, ISBN 978-1-4447-5705-7.
[07] – https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/11/Genesis-11-2.html
[08] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinar
[09] – The Pulpit Commentaries https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tpc/genesis-11.html
[10] – jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4213
[11] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldea
[12] – https://www.britannica.com/place/Chaldea
[13] – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12685-020-00245-5
[14] – The Apology to Autolycus:
CHAPTER XVIII.—ERRORS OF THE GREEKS ABOUT THE DELUGE.
CHAPTER XIX.—ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE
[15] – Oxford Bibliographies: Targum
[16] – Raymond Philip Dougherty, The Sealand of Ancient Arabia, Yale University Press, 1932, 66ff.
[17]- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain
[18]- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Arabia
[19]- https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/edition2/etcslgloss.php?lookup=c4801.331&charenc=gcirc
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